EastEnders executive quits

Louise Berridge has walked out on the struggling BBC soap.

11:08 22 September 2004

EastEnders received another blow yesterday when executive producer Louise Berridge walked out.

The BBC's flagship soap has been suffering of late in the ratings war and appears unable to match the storylines of its rivals.

Berridge will be replaced by Holby City executive producer, Kathleen Hutchison.

Earlier this year, the Beeb splashed the cash to tempt Leslie Grantham out of retirement to reprise his role as Dirty Den.

Even the soap's original bad boy failed to turn things around, with Grantham instead attracting headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Berridge said she was looking forward to a break after a tough few months, but was confident that fans would enjoy the forthcoming storylines.